The Gift of the Room
A Retreat Inward 2026 Recap
Something unexpected happened in Hawai'i earlier this year.
Not unexpected in the way that surprises catch you off guard. The kind that, once you experience it, makes you realize you'd been quietly longing for it - you just didn't have words for it yet.
One of the participants put it this way: being with this group restored her faith in humanity.
She arrived at Retreat Inward already in the middle of something - already asking the question that is bigger than any single arena of her life: what would it mean to bring all of myself - not just the familiar parts, the default parts, the parts I've not welcomed - into my own life? Into my pursuit of what is uniquely mine to do?
That pursuit can feel isolating. But then she found herself in a room with other people in it too.
That is what happened in Hawai'i. A small, gathered group - different industries, different life stages, different paths - who had each, in their own way, stopped believing that their authenticity and effectiveness were in conflict. A group of people who were pursuing a path to be more purposeful with their capabilities, and doing the kind of inner work that makes their outer impact worthy of who they really are.
Being in a room with people like that is not a retreat from the world. It is, in some ways, the most connected and alive I've ever felt in it. I watched people inspire each other simply by being honest about what they're learning about themselves and what they are in the process of evolving from and towards.
What we now have words for after experiencing it - and what restored each of our faith in humanity was this: the most profound and authentic connection with others becomes possible only when you are willing to have it with yourself. And that being in a room with others who are doing that work makes both possible in ways neither could achieve alone.
I’ve gotten plenty of free and paid advice about how to market Retreat Inward, but I could never seem to satisfy the starting questions. Who is it for? What do you do? What will they get?
I understood why it was important, but the questions always felt so small.
Now, I realize the answers were in the song “Maria” from The Sound of Music all along. Especially this line:
“How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?”
I can’t fully explain the gift of the room. But I can wisely defer trying to find the right words, catch a cloud and pin it down, keep a wave upon the sand, or hold a moonbeam in my hand.
Instead, I’ll be doing the work that is uniquely mine to do - directing my energy, influence, privilege, and capabilities - to create the rooms and help the individuals that make it such a gift, find themselves and each other in it.
The retreat is one expression of it, but this is the work I’m in with clients every day - because it starts with your own self leadership. If that’s the work you’re already in or ready for, you’re exactly who I’m here for.
Rooting for you to be buoyant and purposeful.
